Carolin Kropff is a visual artist who works in a process-oriented and cross-media manner. Her artistic practice is informed by her early training as a bespoke tailor, which has had a lasting influence on her understanding of materiality, form, and the cultural coding of craft techniques. This knowledge forms an essential frame of reference for her exploration of the relationship between production, cultural memory, and the attribution of meaning.
At the heart of her work is the exploration of material and handling as carriers of narrative and collective forms of knowledge. Kropff combines visual arts techniques with craft practices and socially engaged formats, with her projects unfolding in processual, often collaborative constellations. Her artistic approach understands craft not as a reproductive technique, but as an epistemic practice—a field in which cultural experiences are sedimented and transformed.
Since 2020, she has been running the Studiospace at Lange Straße 31 in Frankfurt am Main, an independent venue for contemporary art. The space functions as a platform for short-term exhibitions, artistic research, and discursive exchange, facilitating encounters between local and international positions. The Studiospace's project work is supported by the Frankfurt Cultural Office.
Education
1985–1988: Apprenticeship in men's tailoring, Schmidt Bespoke Tailoring, Wiemeringhausen (Journeyman’s Certificate with distinction)
1991–1995: Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
1996–1998: Städelschule Frankfurt (Graduation)
Professional Experience
1989–1991: Costume assistant and men’s tailor, Dortmund Theater
1999–2002: Studio in Madrid, Spain
2006–2011: Studio in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Since 2014: Curatorial work for short-term exhibitions with national and international artists in non-profit off-spaces. Supported by Kulturamt Frankfurt.
Since 2015: Collaboration with the British artist and fashion designer Felicity Brown
2020: Foundation of Studiospace, Frankfurt am Main - an artist-run space dedicated to the exploration of artistic creative processes and the promotion of encounters and communication in art. Supported by Kulturamt Frankfurt.
Since 2021: Teaching textile craft techniques to children and adults.
Exhibitions / Selection
2024
Scythia (G) – 15th Exhibition of Textile & Fibre Arts, Ivano-Frankivs‘k, Ukraine
2023
TWO PLUS TWO (G) Christina Kral, Carolin Kropff (G), Studiospace, Frankfurt/M;
„“ Layla Juna & Carolin Kropff (G), Studiospace, Frankfurt/M
Desert Gates – Back to the Future (S), Studiospace, Frankfurt/M, curated by Larissa Kolesnikova (LA)
2022
„“ Geske Slater Johannsen & Carolin Kropff (G), Studiospace, Frankfurt/M
Inner City (G), Glue, Berlin
Shape Play Shift (G), Christina Kral, Carolin Kropff (G), Studiospace, Frankfurt/M
2021
„“ Hassan Sharif & Carolin Kropff (G), Studiospace, Frankfurt/M
2017
Städelschule: 200 Jahre – 200 Künstler (G), Galerie Perpétuel, Frankfurt/M
2016
Experimentelle Korrespondenzen (G), MACS – Museum für Zeitgenössische Kunst, Sorocaba, Brasilien & Ausstellungshalle 1a, Frankfurt/M
2014
Paradise Lost (S), WOLFSTÆDTER Galerie, Frankfurt/M
2012
Re-Represented Portraits (S), Laboratoire d’Art Beirut, Libanon
2011
MinD (G), DUTAC, Dubai, UAE
29EXH (G), Sharjah Art Museum, Sharjah, UAE
2010
FataMorgana (S), XVA Gallery, Dubai, UAE
BAF (G), XVA Gallery, Dubai, UAE
2008
Made in Tashkeel (G), Tashkeel, Dubai, UAE
2006
diesmal (G), Projektraum im Atelierfrankfurt, Frankfurt/M
2003
Blachfeld (G), auswärts kunstraum, Frankfurt/M
1998
Stuttgart 17.7.1956 – Salem (Wis.) USA 3.3.1977 (G), Portikus, Frankfurt/M
1994
Kunsthaus am Tierpark (G), Dortmund
1993
Spektakel (G), Museum am Ostwall, Dortmund
1991
Kunststudenten stellen aus (G), Museum Beckum
Carolin Kropff
Born 1966 in Altenbüren, Hochsauerlandkreis, North Rhine-Westphalia
Lives and works in Frankfurt am Main and Bad Vilbel, Hesse
Mother of three children